


Stars && Skin

by callmecaramleh



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-22 07:33:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16593572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmecaramleh/pseuds/callmecaramleh
Summary: Zuko was born with a mark on his ankle, and Sokka with one on his wrist. Like with everyone, these marks represent where you and your soulmate will first touch. Unlike everyone else, these two aren’t too thrilled with their prospective soulmate.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello I started this fic and at 6 am and wrote straight through until now, which is 3pm. There’s probably a lot of technical errors, but all my fics have those.  
> Anyway, the soulmate marks also growing hot whenever you think about your soulmate.  
> *** are for Zuko’s POV and ~~~ for Sokka’s. It’s not first person or anything, but I keep the perspectives pretty limited.  
> This fic is also fairly canon compliant (including me looking up transcripts for a lot of the early dialogue) so that’s fun I guess. Uhhhhhh. Hope you enjoy.

Zuko was good at ignoring it. The red mark on his leg was almost always covered, and not as obvious as the scar on his face. The last time he had felt it’s stinging was in the cavernous prison in Ba Sing Se, and even then it was only for a moment, as he was quickly distracted by the rest of the events of that day. He didn’t have time to think about his unwanted soulmate. Not without Ty Lee bringing him up of course.

“What was that hot Water Tribe boy’s name again?” she asked as she did handstands in the garden. Zuko was leaned up against a tree, Mai barely tucked under his arm. It was too hot for excessive touching, and Ty Lee’s question didn’t help. The stinging heat grew from the mark on Zuko’s leg and he tried desperately to mask his discomfort.

“You mean the peasant with the ponytail?” Azula asked from where she laid in the grass, basking in Agni’s rays.

“Yeah, the cute one. Zuko, you must know their names after hunting them forever, right?”

“Sokka,” he mumbled, feeling needle pricks as he said it. He clenched his fist into the grass, pulling blades loose.

“Sokka...” Ty Lee repeated, tasting the word on her tongue as she flipped back into an upright position. Zuko’s teeth clenched, but he knew it wasn’t from the pain. He didn’t want Ty Lee to get to say Sokka’s name. He didn’t want Sokka to exist within the walls of the Fire Nation palace. “Does he have a girlfriend?” Ty Lee continued.

“How should I know?” Zuko asked, his frustration more apparent than he would have liked. It wasn’t any of his business, and it certainly wasn’t Ty Lee’s.

“Oh come on Zuko,” Azula said, twirling her hair around her finger, “You must have seen him with a girl at some point, right? You were literally stalking them.”

Zuko sighed. “I think he was with a girl at the North Pole? But I didn’t see her again. And, uh, maybe one of the Kyoshi Warriors?”

He tried not to think about Kyoshi Island. Every feeling has been so new. The hope of the Avatar, the rage when he would slip through his fingers, and the confusion at the stinging sensation that grew in his leg whenever he saw the Avatar and his friends. Zuko hadn’t faced the truth until after nearly burning Kyoshi to the ground, his undamaged leg searing with pain so bad that it kept him awake the whole night. Undoubtedly it was from the all too loving looks that the Water Tribe boy has given the Kyoshi warrior, jealousy, or something like it, raging like an unwanted energy force inside of Zuko. There was no doubt then that Sokka was his soulmate.

Zuko was born with the mark on his ankle, flushed red like cheeks when out in the cold too long. Everyone was born with one. It marked the first spot where soulmates would touch. Most peoples’ were somewhere on their shoulders or arms, face if they were particularly unlucky. Azula’s was just above the elbow, which she bragged about. It was a very decent mark, unlike Zuko’s ankle one. He used to stay up late trying to think of scenarios where one might touch someone’s ankle without it being absolutely ridiculous, but he was at a loss.

His mother encouraged him to ignore it. In general, that was the way of the Fire Nation. People rarely married their actual soulmate, instead choosing relationships based on class and politics. Zuko knew for a fact that his parents weren’t soulmates, and for a long time he thought they were happy anyway.

And Zuko was happy with Mai, despite not being each other’s soulmates. Or, at least, he was happier with her than with any other part of palace life. It certainly wasn’t all he had dreamed of after years of living as a banished prince. It felt stuffy, confined, and like the sort of clammy hotness that came with having a fever. Zuko could count the things he liked about life in the palace on one hand, and Mai was at the top of that list.

Mai had told him that she hadn’t found her soulmate yet. Zuko told her the same thing. He bet that she knew that he was lying, but she didn’t press the manner. Mai seemed to understand that if Zuko had found his soulmate that there was no way they would be a Fire Nation citizen. He’d have to force himself to believe that he didn’t have one.

When he first felt that stinging sensation—the one that alerted people to the fact that their soulmate had been found—he had thought it was just the normal sting of skin after an attack. Zuko supposed that his leg had just hit the Water Tribe boy’s arm harder than he thought during the kick, and the pain he felt was just the reverberations of force. For the most part it had little affect on his life, as he refused to fall in love with the enemy, and definitely refused to be distracted by something like soulmates. Yet, even still, any capture of Sokka, any fight they had, had made Zuko pause just slightly, maybe punching a little lighter or tying him up a little less roughly. Zuko would never admit it, but he couldn’t help but be affected by Sokka’s presence.

“Well _I_ was a Kyoshi warrior once,” Ty Lee said, “So I must be his type!”

“I think his type is decidedly not Fire Nation.” It was more difficult to say than Zuko had expected.

“I don’t understand what you see in him,” Mai said, “He’s an oaf. He can’t even fight.”

Zuko fought back the urge to correct her, wanting to tell her that Sokka was a better warrior than he seemed. Logically, he knew Sokka was far from measuring up to people like Mai’s skill level, but his heart kept telling him that Sokka wasn’t _awful_ , just untrained.

“But he’s a cute oaf. With muscles. Not all of us can be into pasty skinny pale guys with anger issues.”

Mai just shrugged, clearly unaffected by Ty Lee’s jab. Zuko wanted to retort, but his leg hurt too bad, and he knew an attempt at speaking would be too difficult. This was the longest time he had ever spent thinking about Sokka.

***

Zuko told himself, as he flew on his war balloon, once again chasing the Avatar, though for entirely different reasons, that this had nothing to do with Sokka. This was about Zuko and the Avatar and destiny and peace. It was definitely not because his ankle had made him sleep deprived with stinging sensations after Ty Lee had brought Sokka up. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, finding himself constantly worried with thoughts of the Water Tribe boy. The last time he had seen him had been when he betrayed them in Ba Sing Se.

Although, he supposed, he didn’t actually betray Sokka. Katara, his Uncle, even Aang, but he had never given Sokka any reason to expect him to be on their side. Zuko had wondered, and still wondered, if Katara had known then that he was Sokka’s soulmate. If he were Sokka, there was no way he would tell his little gang that he was soulmates with the enemy, yet at the same time, if he were Katara, there was no way he would trust himself without such information. Not after everything he did to them.

Normally, Zuko was prepared for everything, but landing in the woods above the temple he realized that he had no plan for how to gain the gang’s trust. He hoped that they would see that he changed, hoped that they would be desperate enough for a fire bending teacher to allow him to stay, and hoped, against all odds, that Sokka might trust him.

When he grappled down, his hands dangerously sweaty, he realized that improvising an explanation was no longer a good idea. He should have sent down a letter, or memorized something, even if it took him days to get right. It felt like hands were digging through his brain, claws trying to unearth the right words.

“I heard you guys flying around down there so... I just thought I’d wait for you here,” he said, his voice sounding awkward in its attempt for earnestness. He tried to focus on Aang. After all, it was the Avatar’s opinion that would matter the most, and any thought about Sokka would just distract Zuko. He could barely remember to breathe properly. “I know you must be surprised to see me here.”

“Not really, since you’ve followed us all over the world.” Zuko’s eyes flashed over to Sokka, but he tried his best not to focus on him. He could feel the pin pricks starting to flare in his ankle. _Focus Zuko, you’re here to help the Avatar._.

“Right. Well... uh...” Zuko started, trying to regain composure that he never really had in the first place, “Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I’ve changed, and I, uh,” his eyes found Sokka’s again, unwilling to look anywhere else, “I’m good now. And I think I should join your group.” Sokka’s face did not look promising. It was trained into a stern expression, one that must have been used primarily for battle, which Zuko supposed it made sense for him to be prepared for. The pain was no longer just in Zuko’s leg. He pried his eyes away, turning back to Aang. “Oh, and I can teach firebending to you. See...”

“You want to what now?” the earthbender girl asked. Zuko didn’t know her very well, though he supposed he didn’t actually know any of them, but he did know that she was strong. Her size, age, and blindness was certainly no indicator of her real capabilities.

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?” Katara asked, voice angrier than he had ever heard it. Zuko watched her eyes flicker over to Sokka, and he was certain that she knew. She was protecting him. “I mean, how stupid do you think we are?”

“Yeah, all you’ve ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang,” Sokka added. Zuko’s leg was searing now, unable to pretend that Sokka wasn’t there, that there was no way Sokka would trust him. He wanted to sit down, to at least give his leg a little relief by not forcing it to carry his weight while it was in pain, but all he could do was try to breathe through it.

“I’ve done some good things,” he said, no longer sure if he was pleading with the group or Sokka alone, “I mean, I could have stole your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free.”

For some reason, the shock that came with having a bison lick him, thick slobber coating clothes and hair, morphed into just a little bit of calmness. Before he had always thought of the Avatar’s bison as a beast, but now Zuko could see that he was... fluffy.

“Appa does seem to like him,” Toph said, and Zuko thanked Agni for her. Perhaps she was nicer to him because she wasn’t there for the majority of his chasing period, but he would take any kindness he could get at this point.

“He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I’m not buying it,” Sokka said, and all the hope and calm left again. There was only pain, feeling the hurt he had caused coming back on him two fold.

“I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me,” he said, choking back the urge to say Sokka’s name, to address him exclusively, “and I know I’ve made mistakes in the past—“

“Like when you attacked our village?” There was something extra bitter in Sokka’s voice. It wouldn’t be surprising if Sokka blamed that day for Zuko being his soulmate. If he had never invaded the Southern Water Tribe, perhaps they would have never known it was each other.

As a kid Zuko had thought he was an ideal soulmate. He would trace the red mark on his leg with his finger, imagining what sort of person would be so lucky as to have a firebending Fire Nation prince as their soulmate. After his banishment, it became the opposite. He had hoped to never meet his soulmate. He never wanted to see their disappointment at his hideously scarred face and dishonored spirit. Now that fear had become a reality, and it was worse than he had ever imagined.

“Or when you stole my mother’s necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?”

Zuko wanted to point out that he didn’t technically steal it, but it didn’t seem like the technicality would be very helpful.

“Look, I admit I’ve done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you and I’m sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I’m going to try to stop—“

“Wait, _you_ sent Combustion Man after us?” Sokka asked.

“Well, that’s not his name, but—“

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your friend,” Sokka retorted. Zuko wanted to run right off the edge of the cliff. Anything to stop the burning in his leg and anxiety in his chest.

“He’s not my friend,” he replied, hearing the anger in his voice. He tried to breathe, tried to stay calm. Zuko knew, of course, that the gang was perfectly justified in their distrust, but he was desperate to make them see his change.

“That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!” Toph shouted. He had lost his only possible ally.

Or... maybe he hadn’t.

Zuko turned now to Aang, the Avatar who used to be his only hope of returning home. He was now Zuko’s only hope of new life. In his distraction, Zuko had nearly forgotten the reason he was here. His new path was not to prove to Sokka that he was good, it was to help the Avatar. The welfare of the world took precedence over soulmates.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” he asked. New focus brought calmness to his voice. The pain in his leg began to alleviate. “You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me.”

“There’s no way we can trust you after everything you’ve done. We’ll never let you join us.”

Zuko’s heart sank. This was not a good start to his new life. Katara wouldn’t even allow him to offer himself up as a prisoner, which he supposed made sense, considering the pain it would probably cause Sokka to see him so much. Zuko just wanted to help. He just wanted to try to be good.

***

Zuko wasn’t sure he could call Combustion Man showing up and attacking the gang luck. He wasn’t sure that almost dying trying to save the people he had hired this man to attack was luck either. Still, it was the closest thing to luck that Zuko had ever had. It had been a chance to work to prove himself.

Sokka was walking him through the Air Temple. He had to resist the urge to tell him that he knew the way to the bedrooms already, having carefully mapped out the temple when he had first set out on his quest for the Avatar. He supposed the reminder of his search wouldn’t be too helpful in this moment.

It was the first time he had ever been alone with Sokka. Zuko wondered if he had volunteered to show Zuko to his room, or if it had been forced upon him. His leg was stinging, but it was gentle, and not uncomfortable like it usually was. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t think of anything to say beyond “So, uh, we’re soulmates...” and knew better than to lead off with that. For all he knew, the Water Tribes might not care much about soulmates either. Perhaps for Sokka it meant nothing. That thought stung.

“So, here you go, home sweet home,” Sokka said, his voice sounding forced and awkward, “Unpack? Lunch soon? And, uh... This doesn’t mean anything different for us. You joining us doesn’t affect my opinion of you. I’m only trusting you because Aang asked me to. You’re still... Zuko.”

That one hurt. Zuko sat on the edge of the bed, not wanting to stand on his leg any longer. How he wished he would have blocked Sokka with his arms instead of his legs.

“I understand,” Zuko replied.

***

On most days since joining the gang, the feeling on his leg had been more of a dull ache. He could bare it, trying to keep Sokka only ever in his peripherals. Sokka seemed to be doing the same, avoiding Zuko at every opportunity. Most people were avoiding Zuko anyway, so it wasn’t difficult.

That’s why it was so shocking to Zuko when Sokka asked to speak to him. He was beginning to fit in with everyone a little bit, trying to make jokes and seem personable, but Sokka had kept his distance. To be so blatantly approached was a little jarring.

“So, what’s up?” Zuko finally asked, no longer able to bottle up the nerves that had been building.

“If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?” Sokka asked.

“What do you mean? Who was captured?” The topic was surprising. He had prepared himself on the walk over to talk about soulmates—had prepared himself for a formal rejection—but prisons? It was almost a relief. At least this was something he knew about.

“When the invasion planned failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be.”

Zuko didn’t know about prisons from growing up in the Fire Nation. It wasn’t the type of thing that they taught kids. Instead, he knew from the crew of his ship. All of them were dishonored members of the Fire Nation military, serving the banished prince as a sort of parole. He forced the information out of them, desperate to know what his father would have done outside of banishment, and fearful of what would happen to him when he stepped out of line. When Zuko had charged the blockade to try and capture Aang at the Fire Nation temple, he had known that the options waiting for him if he failed were death or the Boiling Rock. He didn’t know which was worse.

“I can’t tell you,” Zuko said. He wanted to protect Sokka from that fear. With the way they lived, he knew that Sokka needed no new fuel for his nightmares.

“What? Why not?”

“Trust me, knowing would only make you feel worse.”

Sokka paused, no longer as sure of himself as he was when he had first asked Zuko to talk.

“It’s my dad,” Sokka said finally, his voice one strike away from breaking, “He was captured too. I need to know what I put him through.”

Zuko wanted to tell him that it wasn’t Sokka’s fault that his father was in prison. He wanted to assure him that the only person to blame was the Fire Nation, and that Sokka’s father must have known what he was getting into. Zuko wanted to do anything to not tell Sokka what would surely break his heart.

“It’s not good Sokka.” _Don’t ask again. I don’t want to do this to you._

“Please.” And that was all it took for Sokka to break him.

“My guess is they were taken to the Boiling Rock.”

~~~

Zuko always surprised Sokka. Whether he was attacking them, asking to join there team, or staying up in Appa’s saddle so that Sokka couldn’t go to the Boiling Rock by himself, it was always unpredictable. Sokka tried not to think about the time that the gang had been discussing attractive features in a person, and he had insisted on spontaneity. Zuko was his soulmate—he had admitted that to himself and to Katara a long time ago—but that didn’t mean he had to like him.

“I’m going with you.” Sokka had to keep his heart from melting when Zuko said that. He tried to insist that he didn’t need help and that he had to do this on his own, but it was no use. Zuko was stubborn.

Sitting in a war balloon with Zuko made him realize how little he knew about the firebender. Before, the fact that Zuko was trying to kill them seemed like all the information Sokka needed. Now, however, things were irreversibly different, and Sokka would have to start considering Zuko as an actual person. He had been tiptoeing around him back at camp, trying to avoid Zuko at all costs, but war balloons weren’t very big.

When Zuko talked about his Uncle, it sounded so sincere. Just the smallest bit of information about Zuko, even stuff he had already guessed at, piqued Sokka’s interest. There was the familiar heat on his wrist, but it was dull in comparison to how it used to be when he would spend his nights worrying about Zuko’s attacks.

“You didn’t leave behind anyone you cared about?” Sokka asked, unsure if he wanted to show Zuko that his choice to change sides really was difficult, or if he just wanted to know about Zuko’s life back at the palace.

“Well...” Zuko said, looking away from him. Sokka almost thought he saw him blushing. “I did have a girlfriend. Mai.”

Sokka knew that he had no reason to be jealous. Of course they were going to see other people. They both must have known from the minute they touched that their soulmate wouldn’t work out. Sokka knew this, but still the pain in his wrist flared up a little.

“That gloomy girl that sighs a lot?” Sokka asked. His brain must have been going haywire, because he suddenly felt the need to compare. He wasn’t as good of a fighter as Mai, had a much better personality, and wasn’t sure if he was taller than her or not.

“Yeah.” The way Zuko smiled when he said it made Sokka’s stomach churn. Maybe a personality like Sokka’s wasn’t what Zuko was looking for. He tried to convince himself that that was fine, that he didn’t _want_ Zuko to like him, but the thoughts kept streaming in anyway. “Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor. I couldn’t drag her into this.”

Sokka couldn’t help but wonder if Mai had a soulmate that she knew about as well. In the Water Tribes no one looked for romance outside of their soulmates. It was something treasured above all else. Rejecting a soulmate was like rejecting your own skin. Katara assured him, when he finally admitted to her that Zuko was meant to be his, that he didn’t need a soulmate to complete him or treasure him. He had found solace in the lack of concern the Earth Kingdom people seemed to have with soulmates. Most people, it seemed, did end up with theirs eventually, but found no problem with creating other romantic attachments through out their lives. Sokka, it seemed, was not as doomed to be lonely as he had once imagined.

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon,” he told Zuko. He wasn’t sure he had ever had to say that out loud before. He had certainly never told Suki, at least not all of it.

“That’s rough, buddy,” Zuko said. Sokka didn’t look at him. He didn’t want any pain in his wrists to mix with his feelings about Yue.

“...She didn’t have a soulmate mark,” he said, “I had thought, uh, since I didn’t want my soulmate... Well I had thought that it was perfect. The feelings I had for her were certainly strong enough. But then... well her destiny got in the way I guess.”

It was silent for a moment, other than crackling fire of the engine. Sokka risked a glance at Zuko. His eyebrow was furrowed, glaring into the flame. He was leaned over slightly, rubbing at his ankle.

“I’m so sorry,” Zuko finally said, eyes still locked on the flame, “In the Fire Nation we tend to ignore our soulmates. They’re more of a kid’s fantasy than anything else. When we grow up, we form marriages primarily for political reasons. But I was very, um, obsessive about my mark, since the placement is so odd. I wasn’t sure if it made me strange or made me special. But my mother told me, she said ‘Our destiny isn’t written in the stars or on our skin. We are co-authors with the universe in writing our story.’ Her and my dad weren’t soulmates, obviously, but she said the path that she chose brought her more joy than a soulmate could, because she got me and Azula out of it. So uh... I guess what I’m saying is that just because your skin doesn’t say the moon is your soulmate, doesn’t mean she wasn’t your destiny. You chose her.”

Sokka’s head was swimming. Love for Yue was getting jumbled with rejection, and warmth that was not painful so much as calming. The smallest part of his mind was focused on needlessly emphasizing Zuko’s assertion that the Fire Nation, and therefore Zuko, didn’t care about soulmates. He didn’t mind telling Zuko to his face that he didn’t—or at least hadn’t—wanted him, but Zuko’s mutual rejection still managed to sting. The majority of his thoughts, however, were telling him that this was what he had needed to hear since Yue had become the moon. Any attempt at thinking about her, let alone talking about her, had been quashed quickly, leaving Sokka to bottle up guilt, shame, and love, unable to get over the pain of her loss. Yet here Zuko was, the boy who had stolen Aang the same day that Yue left him, helping him to see his life a little more clearly.

“And besides,” Zuko continued, “The moon can’t really leave a mark on your skin. Her rays touch every part of you at some point. And if you think that she had no soulmate marks... well... if you look closely at the moon, you can see that it has ridges, like little mountains. Who’s to say those aren’t from you?”

~~~

Sokka lay in the guard’s quarters, staring at the mattress of the bunk over top of him. He was desperate for a breakout plan. After the cooler plan it felt like he wasn’t going to get another one. He had never really needed an entirely new backup plan before, and certainly not from a ridiculous Fire Nation prison. The lives of two people he loved and his strange soulmate were depending on him.

Sokka shifted the cuff on his arm, staring at the mark on his skin. It was grew hotter as he stared at it, tracing around the red splotch. The warmth danced between soft and painful, worry mixing in with the relief that he wasn’t alone.

When they had changed into the guard uniforms, which now seemed like ages ago, Sokka had caught a glimpse at Zuko’s own mark. He hadn’t needed confirmation of its existence or placement—one doesn’t forget that type of high kick—but it was still strange to actually see it. It showed up redder on Zuko than the the sort of burnt color it was on Sokka, but the skin around it looked smooth, almost untouched. Sokka’s was surrounded with little bumps and marks from scratching at it whenever it got too painful.

He sighed, replacing the cuff. It wouldn’t help him any to think about Zuko now. The only thing he needed on his mind was escape. He was the plan guy. He’d have to come up with something.

***

Sokka’s first plan had been thought out. A little impossible, but at least reasonable. This one, however, with the Fire Nation’s top prisoners starting a riot, seemed absolutely ridiculous. Zuko was trying to go with it, trying to trust Sokka, trying not to think about the fact that he had locked Mai in a cell or that Chit Sang had just called Suki Sokka’s girlfriend, and that Hakoda would very clearly prefer having Suki as part of the family rather than a dishonored Fire Nation prince. His mind was rifling through thoughts far too quickly, distracted by every sound he heard.

“Come on Zuko!” Sokka shouted, taking his hand as he ran for the gondola. As soon as their skin touched, Zuko felt the whole world coming into focus. His thoughts were streamlined. _Protect Sokka. Protect the people that Sokka cares about. Get out of here._

 _Protect Sokka._ Zuko pushed Sokka out of the path of flames as guards barreled towards them. He shouted orders at them, threats on the hostage Warden’s life.

 _Protect the people that Sokka cares about._ Zuko did one last check, making sure everyone was in the gondola before starting it. He looked around him, quickly realizing that he’d have to break the machine. He kicked it once, twice, trying desperately to get it to break. His ankle was searing with pain as he did so, but thoughts of Sokka only seemed to be pushing him to kick harder until it finally broke.

 _Get out of here._ Zuko ran, dodging around fire as best he could. He could feel twinges of heat on his skin, but no bad burns yet. He leaped, his mind hazy with fear until Sokka grabbed onto him, pulling him in. He wanted to hug him, to feel the calm that came with Sokka’s touch, but there was no time. Azula was coming.

 _Protect Sokka. Protect the people that Sokka cares about._ Sokka, and Suki especially, did not necessarily need his protection when it came to Azula and Ty Lee, but they sure did need his help. Zuko thought that one of them might be strong enough to take on Ty Lee on their own, but when it came to Azula, they needed the help. Zuko fought fiercely, his affection propelling his fire bending further than anger ever did.

“They’re cutting the line!”

 _Get out of here._ As Azula and Ty Lee left, Zuko’s mind scrambled for an idea. He needed to get Sokka—to get all of them—out. Yet here he was, hopeless and useless, going to die, leaving behind an Avatar with only a rudimentary knowledge of firebending. They were going to die, and then the Fire Nation would win.

“Who’s that?” Sokka asked, looking toward the prison. Zuko glanced back, staring at the dark figure in the distance, pinning guards to walls and knocking them to the ground. The gondola was moving again, and Zuko had never felt so relieved.

“It’s Mai.”

Across the distance she still managed to lock eyes with Zuko. He thought maybe she was shouting something, but the gondola was too loud, and the space between them too great. She raised her hand then, pointing to where Sokka stood beside him.

Zuko wasn’t entirely sure what she was asking, but he could guess. He nodded, and she returned it, before spinning around to slice at another guard.

_Be protected by those you care about._

***

Zuko let the others sleep on the war balloon. They were all exhausted from prison and he could steer the thing by himself. He was tired, of course, but he knew his thoughts would have kept him up regardless.

Mai, he was certain, was locked away by now. With his extensive knowledge on the Fire Nation’s prisons, he could guess about five that she would be at. There wasn’t enough certainty, nor time, nor energy for another prison break, and Zuko wasn’t even sure she would come with them if they tried. Mai hadn’t saved them because she was on their side. It was an act of love, and a last act if Zuko was correct.

He wanted to return it, but he knew there was nothing he could do. She was, for all intents and purposes, lost from him forever. It wouldn’t be so bad if he knew she was happy, or at least safe, but he knew better than to have that kind of hope.

“Hey...” Sokka said, his voice quiet as he took a seat beside Zuko. They had been flying a little over two hours.

“You should be sleeping,” Zuko said, his voice stern as he added more flames to the fire.

“I did, a bit. I just... I was worried you’d fall asleep and then we’d crash and it’d just be very embarrassing to survive all that and then die halfway home.” Sokka was smiling, and Zuko tried to give one in return. He appreciated Sokka’s energized personality most of the time, but sometimes it just sent his head into a flurry. It was difficult to go from somber to joking so quickly.

“I’m fine Sokka. If you’re tired—“

“I’d really rather stay up with you,” Sokka said, placing his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. He felt his muscles relax slightly, and wondered how long it would take Sokka to realize his weakness for the boy’s touch.

“Ok...” Zuko said, “The moon looks pretty tonight. And very helpful. It’d be difficult to navigate without her.”

“Yeah, she’s the best,” Sokka said wistfully, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

“Mmhm...”

Zuko still wasn’t used to being alone with Sokka. It had happened a few times in the prison, but that was all to talk about plans and strategies. This was totally different. This was having to create ideas and thoughts from thin air, and it only seemed to be made more difficult by the idea that Sokka was now, at the very least, his friend. Nothing confirmed ones desire to truly be with ones soulmate like a prison break. Before there had been all the emotional barriers necessary to, even in close quarters, not desire anything from Sokka. But now, having had a taste of what being close to Sokka meant, he knew that his heart wouldn’t be satisfied until him and Sokka could be together. Zuko also knew, of course, that Sokka had already rejected him as a soulmate a long time ago, and that there was little hope of repairing the relationship beyond what it was now.

“Mai... will she be ok?” Sokka asked.

Zuko shrugged, despite knowing the answer.

“Did you love her?” Sokka continued, and Zuko watched him scratch at his wrist.

“I do.”

Sokka sighed, leaning his shoulder slightly against Zuko. The touch sent fire all through his body and not just his ankle.

“When we win the war she’ll be set free,” Sokka said, “And then you’ll be able to see her again.”

“I’d like to know that she’s safe, but I don’t think she’ll want to see me again. What I did to her will never be ok, and yet not doing it would have been worse.”

“But you chose her anyway?”

“Yep.”

“And she chose to save you.”

“Yeah...” Zuko answered, “She’s too good for me.”

“Well most everyone is.”

~~~

Sokka didn’t know what he was supposed to do now that they were back at the camp. He couldn’t exactly go back to avoiding Zuko, but he didn’t want people finding out that they were soulmates either. Sokka had only just begun to like Zuko as a person, and didn’t want any unnecessary help in figuring out his feelings for the boy. In his group of friends their relationship would probably lead to lively debate and factions of people for and against their relationship. Toph, he guessed, would be all for it, and Katara would definitely be against.

Sokka scratched absently at his wrist as he sat by the fire, cooking breakfast. He knew that he needed to break the habit, but he rarely noticed it these days. The dull warmth of his wrist seemed to draw his hand toward it.

His dad had clearly noticed, always smiling when he saw Sokka doing it. Hakoda, of course, knew where Sokka’s mark was despite it typically being covered by sleeves or his arm wrappings. Sokka didn’t want to tell his dad anything either, but he wasn’t stupid. His son was clearly responding to the heated pain a mark could give off, which meant that at some point on his journey he had met his soulmate.

“So,” said Hakoda, setting down a large pile of fire wood beside Sokka, “Suki seems like a very impressive young lady.”

“It’s not her,” Sokka said, not in the mood to beat around the bush. He had known that his dad had suspected her of being his soulmate since they were all on the war balloon, but he had wanted to avoid the conversation as long as possible. He wasn’t sure why, but it frustrated him that his dad never seemed to even consider that it could be Zuko.

“Oh, uh...” Hakoda moved to sit beside Sokka, “Katara said that there was another girl, at the North Pole...” There was pain in Hakoda’s face as he asked. Hakoda knew, of course, what it was like to lose one’s soulmate.

The marks reflected how much a person was thinking about their soulmate. The harder they thought about their soulmate, the hotter the sensation would get. The pain, according to Sokka’s mother, went away after the first kiss between soulmates. There was still the heat of the mark, but the feeling could no longer burn. That is, however, until their soulmate would die. After death it was rumored that the pain came back, but worse. Sokka didn’t know how true that was. Hakoda never talked about it.

“It wasn’t her either. She didn’t have one,” Sokka said, “Dad?”

“Yeah Sokka?”

“If having a soulmate can really hurt that much, why do you always smile when you notice me looking at my wrist?”

“It doesn’t hurt Sokka,” Hakoda said, looking slightly confused.

“But... People say when you lose your soulmate that... well that the pain is unbearable.”

Hakoda smiled, wrapping his arm around Sokka’s shoulder and pulling him close to his chest.

“Maybe that’s true, but I haven’t lost your mother. People don’t always go away when they die. Kya is still here, and I see her every time I see you smile, or hear Katara laugh. It does hurt when someone you love dies, but the pain from the mark only comes back when a person truly leaves you, and soulmates rarely do.”

“But what if Katara and I died?”

“I won’t let that happen,” Hakoda said, his voice stern.

“But what if? We’re traveling with the Avatar. We’re not exactly safe.”

Hakoda sighed, “I won’t let you, but even if you did, I already see what an incredible impact you have made on your friends. Kya taught the two of you how to love, and you have shown that love across the world. I could look at Aang, or Suki, or Zuko, or even the moon, and I would know that the love that Kya passed down to you was still all around me.”

“You see it in all of those people?”

“Yes, and more.”

~~~

Sokka wasn’t exactly thrilled about Zuko and Katara going on a dangerous mission. They were the two people that he was most concerned about, and with them gone his worry was at an all time high. The absence of Zuko, however, at least gave him time to think without so many distractions.

Sokka had known it was silly, but back when he had first discovered that Zuko was his soulmate, he wasn’t just concerned about him being his Fire Nation prince. There was a dumb, trivial part of his mind that kept nagging him to be embarrassed about Zuko because he was _ugly_. He was far too pale, almost like he was sick, only had one eyebrow, and on top of that, was bald except for an extravagant ponytail. Sokka couldn’t understand why the cosmos had given him a soulmate who was not only evil, but also inherently unattractive.

That had changed only slightly when they all had fought off Azula in that abandoned town. With short hair some of the harshness of Zuko had softened. Then, when they saw him in Ba Sing Se, Sokka’s eyes had about bulged out of his head. Somehow Zuko had become _hot_. Sokka wasn’t sure if it was the hair or the fact that he was not, at first, trying to kill them, but he was no longer the person that Sokka had called ugly all those months ago.

Sokka knew that going into Zuko’s tent while Zuko wasn’t there was probably a very rude invasion of privacy, but he justified it, thinking how Zuko had invaded their privacy—their entire lives—on more occasions than one.

It was pretty bare. The sleeping bag was laid out carefully, fabric that looked expensive now appearing worn and dirty. There was a picture of Iroh laid out, and one of a woman that Sokka assumed was Zuko’s mom. Katara had told him about what happened with Zuko’s mother, perhaps thinking that if she told him instead of Zuko then he couldn’t be manipulated into trusting him.

Yet now it seemed like a nonissue. The Zuko that had tracked them down and fought them at every chance did not seem to exist anymore. In the same way that a person could not see a caterpillar when looking at a butterfly, or see Yue’s pale blue eyes when looking at the moon, so was the Zuko of the present so unmistakable from the Zuko of the past.

“What are you doing in here?”

Sokka jumped, spinning around. Suki was leaning in the doorway, peaking her head into the tent.

“I, uh....”

“Still don’t trust him?” she asked as she crawled through.

“No, that’s not it...”

“Trust him too much?”

“I guess?” Sokka said, rubbing the shaved hair at the back of his neck, “It’s just... weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Suki said, “He burned down my village and then helped rescue me from prison. It’s a big change.”

“Yeah... I had prepared myself to have one opinion on him for my whole life, and then he had to go and mess that up.” Sokka tried to smile, but he mostly just felt uncomfortable.

“Messing things up seems to be a shared quality between the two of you,” Suki replied, smiling.

“Hey!”

“I’m only being honest,” Suki replied with a shrug, “And, I suppose, before things get out of hand I should be honest about something else. I found my soulmate.”

“Oh. Anyone I know?” Sokka felt relieved and gutted simultaneously. His newfound affection for Zuko didn’t cancel out the love he felt for Suki, and his understanding at how she must be feeling didn’t seem to help.

“I... I’d rather not talk about them?” Suki answered, “There’s a war going on and thinking means worrying and worry is a distraction. I just... I know you told me that your soulmate wasn’t a person you wanted, and I didn’t want you to be relying on me to take their place when I couldn’t anymore. I’m sorry Sokka.”

“No, no, it’s ok,” he answered, “I love you Suki, and I can’t wait for a day when you and this person can be happy together. My feelings don’t need to be one of your worries.”

She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. He knew she wouldn’t say it, but he could tell she loved him too. The emotion was not reserved for soulmates.

“Sokka,” she said, “Did you, by any chance, find that this soulmate that you didn’t want is actually, now, someone that you’re interested in.”

“Suki,” Sokka answered, trying to keep his voice stern.

“What? I’m just asking.”

“I don’t want it to be everyone’s business. Can you imagine if Toph knew about this?”

“Right, good point,” Suki replied, “My lips are sealed.”

***

Zuko wasn’t sure if he could call his and Katara’s trip a success. They didn’t bring back a firebending dance or lost friends, but at least Zuko was bringing Katara back in one piece. 

They were almost back to the camp, Zuko steering Appa. He tried to process all that had happened. Katara blood bending, Katara sparing the man that killed her and Sokka’s mother. Zuko thought about the man who had caused him to lose his own mother. At least he wouldn’t have to be the one to kill the Firelord.

“Zuko?” Katara said, and Zuko glanced back at her. Her hair was disarray, but now more from bedhead than rage.

“We’re almost back,” he answered.

“Thank you for going with me...” her voice was small, hushed, like it had been in the caverns of Ba Sing Se.

“Don’t mention it. I know you don’t see it this way, but I see you as a friend. I’m not going to let you do something like this on your own.”

“I know that’s not the real reason,” Katara replied, “I know you went for Sokka’s sake. So that he wouldn’t have to worry about me being alone, or so that he wouldn’t try to go himself.”

Zuko took another glance backward, eyebrow furrowed. “I wasn’t thinking about that,” he answered, “I mean, maybe subconsciously, but primarily I just... I don’t know. I guess the people he cares about became the people I care about too.”

“I think he likes you,” she said, and Zuko could feel himself blushing.

“I’m happy just to get to be Sokka’s friend.”

“Yeah But you totally want to kiss him.” Katara was giggling now, no longer the terrifying water bender he had seen a few hours ago.

“You’re ridiculous,” he replied, but he was smiling. He supposed he wasn’t so terrifying anymore either.

***

If there was one place that he knew his father would never go, it was Ember Island. Ozai wouldn’t risk being revealed the way Ember Island was said to.

At first the gang seemed nervous to be squatting at one of the Fire Lord’s houses, but eventually the luxury aspects of the house, namely comfy beds and hot running water, appealed to them. Toph, Aang, and Momo has taken to exploring while Katara and Suki went off towards the bath house, excited to get to bathe in something that wasn’t half mud.

“Hey,” Sokka said, his voice strangely low, “How about you show me your room. I want to see how a Prince in the Fire Nation grows up.”

“Uh... ok...” Zuko said, walking off towards his old room, “I didn’t sleep in here much as a kid. My parents had separate rooms, so most of the time I would tell my mom I had nightmares so I could share with her.”

Sokka laughed. “You were a total mama’s boy.”

“Would you rather I looked up to my dad like Azula?”

“No, good point.”

They got to the room, which was a little dusty, but otherwise unchanged. It had high ceilings and expensive red and gold decor, all very breakable. The bed was large, with a crimson canopy hanging around it. Nothing in the room seemed to make it fit for a kid. There were no toys, and all the books on the shelves were about history. There was a family photo on a shelf, and Zuko tipped it over, not wanting to see it.

“This is _awesome_ ,” Sokka said, running forward hopping onto the bed, he bounced on it, his head bumping against the top of the canopy, “Are those swords on the wall real? We should try them out later! And the view is absolutely amazing. You really grew up like this?”

“Well I definitely didn’t grow up jumping on the bed...”

“What? Seriously?” Sokka asked, “You gotta try it! It’s so fun.”

Zuko hesitated, thinking about how angry his father would be if he knew that a boy from the Water Tribe was hopping on one of their expensive mattresses. That, however, seemed to make up Zuko’s mind on the matter, climbing onto the bed and jumping with Sokka. He laughed, and found he couldn’t stop, giggles bursting forth and reforming before he could even catch his breath properly. He wasn’t sure he had ever laughed like that before.

Eventually Sokka plopped down, sitting against the headboard, trying to catch his breath as he continued laughing. Zuko followed suit, leaning in a little to brush a hair out of Sokka’s face. The motion had felt natural until it was over, his hand lingering by Sokka’s ear.

“That was fun,” Sokka said, beaming.

“Very fun,” Zuko replied. Sokka hadn’t moved or flinched, so Zuko let his hand stay where it was, resting on the side of his face. He let his thumb move back and force over Sokka’s skin.

“We should share this room while we’re here,” Sokka suggested. His eyes looked a little nervous, but his jaw was set, confident.

“Yeah, ok,” Zuko replied. He wanted to say something better, but he was getting distracted by all the different shades of blue in Sokka’s eyes.

“Do any of those books over there detail Fire Nation strategies?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess. There’s a lot of war books here. I’ll go grab one for you—“

“No.” Zuko had turned, lowering his hand, but Sokka had caught it, returning it to its place on his cheek. “Stay, I’ll read it later.” In pulling Zuko back, Sokka had greatly decreased the distance between them, placing his hands on either of Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko could feel his own heart beating in his chest, and heat from his ankle was pouring out all too painfully.

“Zuko... My wrist really hurts... Can I kiss you?”

“Just for the pain purposes?” Zuko asked, needing clarification.

“No, primarily because I liked you. Getting my wrist to stop burning is just a perk.”

“Oh. Ok. Yeah. Let’s... do that.”

They closed the gap between them, lips touching softly. All at once Zuko felt the stinging pain from his leg bloom into loving warmth, like eating spicy curry on a rainy day. The feeling seemed golden, not burning but melting, dripping joy into Zuko. This was a sunflower, reaching up towards Agni’s rays. He felt so relieved that he wouldn’t have to live without this feeling.

“Zuko,” Sokka said, his lips still grazing against Zuko’s as he spoke, “I’m so glad you chose us”

“I’m so glad you let me.”


	2. Bonus Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend Delaney said she wanted more of this fic and I love to make her suffer?? This is just a little angsty mostly dialogue addition, so if you want to disregard it, please feel free to. I just wanted to make myself feel sad I guess??

“I... there’s something else I want to talk to you about. Not now. I know there’s not time but maybe if things settle down? It’s not... important,” Korra said. Zuko smiled, looking down at her from where he sat on his dragon. He liked Korra, especially her ponytail.

“Of course, Avatar Korra, I’m always happy to help you.”

***

Helping Korra did not go the way Zuko had hoped. He liked the young Avatar. When Katara had first described her to him it had seemed strange to him that she could be so different from Aang, yet when he met her he could see the same spirit in her. She was her own person, and yet she was his old friend, all at the same time.

This feeling only made finding out about her torture from the Red Lotus worse. His daughter, feeling it the Fire Nation’s duty to send their thanks and well wishes to the Avatar, asked Zuko to head to the South Pole to visit with the Avatar during her recovery. Zuko wanted to find some way to get out of it, but his daughter insisted, and he could rarely say no to her.

It was colder than he remembered, but perhaps that was just his age getting to him. He was bundled up in old clothes, all of the familiar scents of fur and ice coming back to him. His arms were cold, but heat from his ankle had at least spread through his legs. Zuko took a deep breath before crunching his way towards Katara’s healing hut.

“Zuko, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said, already outside by the time he got there. He expected that Druk had caused enough attention to alert Katara of his being there.

“It’s been a long time,” he replied wistfully, enveloping her in a hug. Distance seemed to grow wider with age and loss. He wasn’t sure how many years it had been since he had last seen Katara.

“Yes, since...” she started, but cut herself off, “You look nice in those Water Tribe blues.”

“Thank you. They were his.” The heat in Zuko’s legs grew enough to make it through to his chest.

“I’m aware. I fixed that anorak more than a few times,” she said, grinning, “Now what brings you here? It can’t just be a trip to see me.”

“Izumi wanted to make sure that Korra received an official thanks from the Fire Nation,” Zuko replied, “How is she doing?”

Katara frowned. Zuko knew that look, all full of worry. It was the look she wore when he came to after being struck by lightning. It was her “I’m not sure they’ll make it,” look. The last time he had seen it was the last time he was at the South Pole.

“I’ll go see if she wants a visitor,” Katara said rather than answering, making her way back inside. Zuko nodded, content to wait outside. He glanced around at the sky, bright with both moon and sun. His hand rose, waving at the moon. It had become a habit.

“She said it’s fine for you to come in,” Katara said, poking her head out, “Just... be gentle.”

Zuko entered the building quietly. Korra was sitting down in her wheel chair, looking out a circular window. She didn’t look angry or sad, just blank. It seemed worse.

“Korra,” he said, taking a seat on the floor beside her, “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too...” Her voice was quiet, barely more than a breath.

“I wanted to offer thanks, on behalf of my daughter, the Fire Nation, and particularly from myself.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Korra said, “I was powerless...”

“Korra, that’s not true, I—“

“Can we talk about something else?” she asked, almost sounding whole, “Can we talk about what I didn’t get to ask about last time.”

“Of course,” Zuko replied, “Whatever you need.”

“I... it just feels weird to ask Katara this... but I was wondering if Aang had a soulmate?”

“Oh,” was Zuko’s initial response. He was slightly surprised that no one had talked about this with Korra before. After the war, finding one’s soulmate had become a bit of a fad. Without as many barriers to keep people apart, it was a lot easier to find the person one wanted to be with. As traveling became easier, the idea of finding one’s soulmate became much more plausible.

“Yes,” Zuko finally continued, “Katara is his soulmate.”

“I don’t have one. I... I tried to hide that fact when I was a kid. Sometimes lately though I feel like I’ve been tricking myself into having that feeling, the burning feeling, because I want to have someone, you know?”

“Korra, the Avatar doesn’t ever have a soulmate mark, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a soulmate,” Zuko answered, “I’m sorry no one told you this. It is supposedly very difficult for the Avatar to find their soulmate, although to be honest Aang had no problems there. But for Avatar Roku it was not until late in his life that he realized that Firelord Sozin was his, which was very difficult for him.”

“How... how can we have a soulmate without the mark?”

“I’m not sure exactly,” Zuko replied, “I suspect that it is because you are part spirit. I know of another person who was born without the mark, and she became the moon. I have no proof, but I believe she also had a soulmate.”

“So, I just have to know from the burning?”

“Yes, but it’s a choice as well. You don’t have to love anyone you don’t want to, and you can love more people than just your soulmate,” Zuko replied, “And there’s plenty of people that just have to tell from the burning. Like Toph.”

“I... I don’t want to choose anyone,” Korra replied, burying her head in her hands, “I’m so... mortal. Someone loving me will only bring them pain.”

Zuko sighed, taking her hand. He liked Korra, and hoped the world would have many more years with her as the Avatar. She had made so many decisions that changed their world for the better. Still, he couldn’t promise her days that he didn’t know she was going to be given. Korra’s fears, as proven or created by the Red Lotus, were justified.

“A soulmate almost never brings pain,” Zuko answered, “I was very lucky. I got to have so many wonderful years with mine, despite the fact that we both liked to throw ourselves into danger—“

“I didn’t realize Firelord Izumi’s mother was so reckless.”

“Oh. No. She wasn’t reckless, nor was she my soulmate. She was a very good friend. I needed to produce an heir so that my sister would have no claim to the throne. Sokka was my real soulmate.”

“ _Sokka?_ ” she asked, astonished.

Even just hearing his name aloud sent new fire coursing through Zuko. He couldn’t keep his awkward smile off his face.

“Yes. I’m sorry, I figured the rumors of our relationship had made it here. We didn’t want to confirm it, due to political reasons, but yes, Sokka was my soulmate.”

“He... he saved me when I was a kid.”

“Yes. He was supposed to be retired, but he was too fond of you. He was so proud that the Avatar was from the South Pole, and he would always said that you were so much cooler than Aang.”

Korra smiled but didn’t say anything for a while, choosing to look out the window. Snow was falling, thick tufts of it flurrying through the sky. It was so white, almost blinding. The last time he had seen snow here it had been mixed with ash. A canoe ablaze in the water sending smoke up to mix with clouds. The world had been all grey and golden.

“I’ve always ignored it when people talked about soulmates,” Korra said, “It made me sad and uncomfortable thinking that I didn’t have one. Could you... could you tell me about Sokka?”

Zuko smiled. This was a subject that he could spend days on.

“It started here, in the South Pole. I was trying to capture the Avatar, and Sokka was defending his village. He attacked me, and I kicked his hand away. We had a very rocky beginning.”

He would talk as long as Korra would listen. Zuko told her all about trying to ignore Sokka, of changing sides, of falling in love on war balloons and in prisons. He told her how his thoughts of Sokka had made his bending even stronger when he fought Azula. He told her of the pride he had as Sokka worked to create a world of peace. Zuko wanted to capture that golden feeling in words, so that Korra might understand all the advantages of a soulmate. That warm glow filled every space of his memory, from practicing sword fighting together, to sunset walks on Ember Island, to the time when Sokka tried to get Zuko to join a probending team.

“And it ended here too,” Zuko said when he thought he had gone on too long, “Sokka was very upset about it. He had always wanted to die in battle, but instead he had just gotten sick. It was difficult and slow. I won’t lie to you Korra, having one’s soulmate die is ridiculously hard, but in my case at least, Sokka made it easier. He said to me, ‘I won’t go onto the next life without you. When it’s your time, I’ll be waiting for you on the moon.’”

“It would make me so sad,” Korra said, “If I were you I’m sure that I would never be happy again.”

“Sadness and happiness, I have found, are not mutually exclusive,” Zuko replied, “And I have found that I cannot stop myself from being happy just because it might bring me sadness as well. Stopping oneself from experiencing joy does not decrease the amount of sorrow you feel, but rather multiplies it.

“Korra, you’re a magnificent person and a very impressive Avatar and I think you deserve to have someone by your side. Even if you decide on a destiny that doesn’t include a soulmate, I think there are many people in this world who love you and are going to be there to help you whether you want them to or not.”

“Thank you...” Korra said, her voice hushed but at least full of more life than it has been, “I’m... I’m very scared. It’s not a feeling that I’m totally used to. It’s difficult for me to find my way out of the darkness, but hearing a bit of your light is helpful.”

“I’m glad. I think we are all born with very little light, and the rest is passed down and shared with us. I am more than happy to share mine with you, and, if you ever need a little extra, look to the moon, for I’m sure that Sokka will give you sons of his as well.”

“I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!!! I wrote it after falling absolutely in love with Kalira’s soulmate AU, What’s In A Name? so you should definitely check that out.


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